Around Asia: Samsung to pay Apple $290 million in patent suit

Samsung was ordered to pay $290 million in damages to Cupertino-based Apple Inc after the South Korean company was found to infringe iPhone and iPad patents.

A Silicon Valley jury announced the verdict Thursday after a weeklong trial. The ruling covers 13 of the 26 Samsung devices, mostly older tablets and smartphones, that Apple claimed to have copied its features.

Apple released a statement on the verdict. “For Apple, this case has always been about more than patents and money. It has been about innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love,” the company said.

“While it’s impossible to put a price tag on those values, we are grateful to the jury for showing Samsung that copying has a cost.”

Samsung said it was disappointed by the court’s decision and is expected to appeal. The South Korean firm argued that Apple should not have ownership over the “basic rectangle” shape of smartphones.

“Apple doesn’t own beautiful and sexy,” Samsung lawyer William Price told the jury during the proceedings.

Apple and Samsung have been fighting in the courts over the last two years. Last year, Apple was awarded over $1 billion after it won a trial over features in the iPhone, such as the “pinch and zoom”, that Samsung copied.

The $290 million figure comes on top of the $550 million Samsung owes Apple as a result of an initial verdict.

“While we move forward with our post-trial motions and appeals, we will continue to innovate with groundbreaking technologies and great products that are loved by our many customers all around the world,” Samsung said.